352.  o/  , 


JOHNS  HOPKINS  UNIVERSITY  STUDIES 

IN 

HISTORICAL   AND   POLITICAL   SCIENCE 

HERBERT  B.  ADAMS,  Editor 


History  is  past  Politics  and  Politics  present  History.— Freeman 


III 

LOCAL  GOVERNMENT  IN  ILLINOIS 

BY  ALBERT  SHAW,  A.  B. 

Reprinted  from  the  Fortnightly  Review 
AND 

LOCAL  GOVERNMENT  IN  PENNSYLVANIA 

BY  E.  R.  L.  GOULD,  A.  B. 

Read  before  the  Pennsylvania  Historical  Society,  May  1, 1882 


ILLINOIS 

AT 


BALTIMORE 

PUBLISHED  BY  THE  JOHNS  HOPKINS?  UNIVERSITY 
JANUARY,  1883. 


PROSPECTUS 

OF    TH  K 

Johns  Hopkins  University  Studies 

IN 

HISTORICAL  AND  POLITICAL  SCIENCE. 

H.   B.   ADAMS,   Editor. 


The  following  Studies  are  either  ready  for  the  press  or  in  active 
preparation.  Some  of  them  will  be  published  in  the  first  instance  by 
the  University.  Others  will  be  reprints  from  the  proceedings  of 
learned  societies,  magazines,  etc.,  where  they  appear  in  some  cases 
under  titles  slightly  different  from  those  here  adopted.  The  idea  of 
this  series  is  to  bring  together,  in  numbered  monographs,  kindred 
contributions  to  Historical  and  Political  Science,  so  that  individual 
efforts  may  gain  strength  by  combination  and  become  more  useful 
as  well  as  more  accessible  to  students.  The  Studies  will  be  pub- 
lished at  monthly  intervals,  but  not  necessarily  in  separate  form 
or  in  the  following  order.  A  limited  edition  only  of  each  mono- 
graphic number  will  be  issued  and  a  price  will  be  set  upon  each  as 
soon  as  it  appears.  A  few  single  copies  will  be  sold  upon  applica- 
tion and  receipt  of  price.  By  paying  three  dollars  in  advance,  sub- 
scribers may  avoid  the  inconvenience  of  small  remittances  and  be 
assured  of  receiving,  at  lower  rates,  the  first  twelve  numbers,  com- 
prising more  than  twelve  papers  and  from  300  to  400  pages. 

Scientific  communications  should  be  addressed  to  the  EDITOR; 
business  matters,  subscriptions,  questions  touching  exchanges,  etc., 
to  the  PUBLICATION  AGENCY  (N.  MURRAY),  JOHNS  HOPKINS  UNI- 
VERSITY, BALTIMORE,  MARYLAND. 

Subscriptions  will  also  be  received,  or  single  copies  furnished, 
by  G.  P.  PUTNAM'S  SONS,  NEW, YORK;  SOULE  &  BUGBEB,  BOSTON ; 
ROBERT  CLARKE  &  Co.,  CINCINNATI;  JAMES  ANGLIM  &  Co.,  WASH- 
INGTON ;  TRUBNER  &  Co.,  LONDON. 

I.  An  Introduction  to  American  Institutional    History.      By  EDWARD 

A.  FREEMAN,  D.C.L.,  LL.D.  With  an  account  of  Mr.  Freeman's  Visit 
to  Baltimore,  by  the  Editor,  republished  from  the  Johns  Hopkins  Uni- 
versity Circular,  No.  20.  (Now  ready.  Price,  25  cents). 

II.  The  Germanic  Origin  of  New  England  Towns.      Read  before  the 

Harvard  Historical  Society,  May  9,  1881.  By  H.  B.  ADAMS,  Ph.  D. 
Heidelberg,  1876  ;  Associate  Professor  of  History,  Johns  Hopkins  Uni- 
versity. With  Notes  on  Cooperation  in  University  Work.  (Now  ready. 
Price,  40  cents). 

III.  Local  Government  in  Illinois.     Reprinted  from  the   Fortnightly  Re- 

view. By  ALBERT  SHAW,  A.  B.  Iowa  College,  1879;  Johns  Hopkins 
University,  1881-2:  and  Local  Government  in  Pennsylvania.  Read 
before  the  Pennsylvania  Historical  Society,  May  1,  1882.  By  E.  R.  L. 
GOULD,  A.  B.  Victoria  University,  1881 ;  Fellow  in  History,  Johns 
Hopkins  University,  1882.  (Now  ready.  Price  30  cents.) 

IV.  Saxon  Tithingmen  in  America.     Read  before  the  American  Antiqua- 

rian Society,  October  21,  1881.  By  H.  B.  ADAMS.  (Now  ready.  Price 
25  cents. 


Ill 


LOCAL  GOVERNMENT  IN  ILLINOIS 


AND 


LOCAL  GOVERNMENT  IN  PENNSYLVANIA 


"It  is  not  creditable  to  us  as  an  educated  people  that  while  our  students  are  well 
acquainted  with  the  state  machinery  of  Athens  and  Rome,  they  should  be  ignorant  of 
the  corresponding  institutions  of  our  own  forefathers:  institutions  that  possess  a  living 
interest  for  every  nation  that  realises  its  identity,  and  have  exercised  on  the  well-being 
of  the  civilised  world  an  influence  not  inferior  certainly  to  that  of  the  Classical 
nations.  "  —  Stubbs,  Select  Charters. 


JOHNS  HOPKINS  UNIVERSITY  STUDIES 

IN 

HISTORICAL    AND    POLITICAL    SCIENCE 

HERBERT  B.  ADAMS,  Editor 


History  is  past  Politics  and  Politics  present  History. — Freeman 


III 

LOCAL  GOVERNMENT  IN  ILLINOIS 

BY  ALBERT  SHAW,  A.  B. 

Reprinted   from  the   Fortnightly  Revie-w 
ANI> 

LOCAL  GOVERNMENT  IN  PENNSYLVANIA 

BY  E.  R.  L.  GOULD,  A.  B. 

Read  before  the  Pennsylvania  Historical  Society;  May  1, 1882 


BALTIMORE 

PUBLISHED  BY  THK  JOHNS  HOPKINS  UNIVERSITY 
JANUARY,   1883. 


JOHN  MURPHY  &  CO.,  PRINTERS, 
BALTIMORE. 


LOCAL  GOVERNMENT  IN  ILLINOIS. 


IT  is  difficult  to  approach  the  study  of  the  political  systems 
to-day  in   operation  in  the  new  Western  States  without  a 
feeling  that  they  are  wholly  artificial  and  superimposed  in- 
ventions rather  than  growths.     Such  preconceptions  must  in 
good  measure  yield  before  a  study  of  the  simple  facts.    Arti- 
ficial and  mathematical  as  is  that  checker-board  system  of 
local  geography  which  a  township  map  of  Illinois  depicts,  it 
nevertheless  furnishes  rnetes  and   bounds  for  local  govern- 
ments which  are  neither  novel  nor   experimental,  hut  are 
transplanted  scions  from  older  growths  of  Anglo-Saxon  com- 
munal life,  which   have  already  taken  firm  root  in  prairie 
soil  and  have  easily  adapted  themselves  to  the  modifying 
influences  of  the  new  environment.     It  must  be  remembered 
,  that  the  prairie  farmer  is  descended  from  people  who  for  cen- 
jj  turies  have  had  the  habit  of  attending  to  their  own  local 
^affairs  ;  and  that  with  all  his  fondness  for  paper  constitutions 
^  and  minute  written  laws,  he  is  but  re-enacting,  under  inodi- 
~^~fied  form?,  the  social  arrangements  under  which  the  Ano-lo- 
Vj  Saxon   usually  insists  upon  living,  wherever  you  transplant 
"him.     The  safeguards  and  maxims  of  the  common  law  are 
as  truly  the  heritage  of  the  young  Anglo-Saxon  in  the  Mis- 
sissippi  Valley  as  of  his  cousin  on  the  Severn  or  the  Thames. 
The  precise  forms  under  which  the  people  of  Illinois  are 
to-day  governing  themselves  have  been  largely  shaped  by 
'  certain  facts  in  the  history  of  the  State,  and  will  be  best  un- 
(lei-stood  in  the  light  of  a  preliminary  historical  sketch. 

Migration   from  the  Atlantic  States  to  the  interior  and 
Western  States  has  always  followed  the  parallels  of  latitude. 


(5  Local  Government  in  Illinois. 

Illinois  is  a  remarkable  illustration  of  this  tendency.  A 
glance  at  the  map  will  show  that  the  State's  greatest  length 
(nearly  four  hundred  miles)  is  from  north  to  south  ;  and  that 
the  parallels  which  mark  its  northern  and  southern  limits 
include  the  sea-hoard  States  from  New  Hampshire  to  North 
Carolina.  Naturally,  then,  Southern  Illinois  derived  its 
population  from  Virginia  and  other  Southern  States,  while 
Northern  Illinois  was  chiefly  settled  from  Massachusetts  and 
other  New  England  States.  The  inquiry  into  the  habits  and 
opinions  of  government  which  these  people  brought  with 
them  to  their  new  homes  must  carry  us  a  step  further  back. 

M.  de  Tocqueville,  who  made  his  survey  of  American 
institutions  at  a  time  when  the  migratory  tide  was  setting 
strongly  toward  Illinois,  and  when  her  institutions  were  in  a 
formative  stage,  says  that  "  two  branches  may  be  distin- 
guished in  the  Anglo-American  family,  which  have  grown 
up  without  entirely  commingling — the  one  in  the  north,  the 
other  in  the  south."  New  England  had  been  colonized  by 
men  who  were,  in  the  language  of  the  same  writer,  "  neither 
lords  nor  common  people,  neither  rich  nor  poor."  A  people 
so  similar  in  education,  so  agreed  in  religious  beliefs,  and  so 
equal  in  property  and  in  social  rank,  formed  the  best  material 
for  a  pure  democracy  that  the  world  had  ever  seen.  Gradu- 
ally they  covered  New  England  with  a  congeries  of  small 
self-governing  agricultural  communities,  each  with  a  strongly 
individual  character,  and  bearing  some  striking  resemblances 
to  the  ancient  Teutonic  "mark."  Qualifications  for  the  ex- 
ercise of  political  privileges  were  not  onerous,  and  the  whole 
body  of  qualified  citizens  were  accustomed  to  assemble  in 
"  town  meetings,"  where  they  elected  officers,  discussed 
neighborhood  interests,  made  laws,  and  voted  taxes.  Even 
when,  after  the  separation  from  England,  the  State  govern- 
ments had  become  firmly  established,  the  towns  were  still 
permitted  to  make  and  administer  most  of  those  laws  which 
were  of  immediate  concern  to  them.  The  legislature  of  the 
State  was  composed  of  representatives  from  the  towns,  and 
made  laws  which  affected  the  towns  only  in  matters  of  com- 
mon interest.  Such  State  laws,  furthermore,  were  executed 


Local  Government  in  Illinois.  7 

by  the  town  officers  within  their  respective  jurisdictions. 
The  New  England  county  was  an  aggregation  of  towns  to 
constitute  a  judicial  district,  wherein  might  be  maintained 
a  judiciary  establishment  midway  between  the  justices' 
courts  of  the  towns  and  the  superior  court  of  the  State.  The 
county  had  no  very  distinct  political  character.  As  a  whole, 
the  New  England  system  was  one  highly  localized  both  in 
administration  and  in  authority. 

In  Virginia  the  structure  of  society  was  radically  dif- 
ferent. Op'posed  to  the  small  freeholds  of  New  England,  we 
find  from  the  beginning  a  tendency  to  mass  the  land  in  large 
estates.  The  institution  of  slavery,  which  always  dishonors 
and  degrades  free  labor,  forbade  the  growth  of  a  strong 
middle  class.  The  wealthy  planter  had  no  interest  in  com- 
mon with  his  tenants  and  servants.  The  communal  life  of 
village  or  neighborhood  could  not  develop  under  such  an 
industrial  system.  The  planter  was  a  sort  of  feudal  lord  on 
his  own  domain,  and  local  self-rule  by  majorities  found  no 
place.  We  find  territorial  divisions,  but  chiefly  for  con- 
venience in  limiting  the  jurisdiction  of  courts,  collecting 
State  taxes,  and  holding  State  elections.  The  State  Govern- 
ment was  the  centre  both  of  authority  and  administration. 
The  Governor  appointed  all  justices  of  the  peace  throughout 
the  State.  The  justices  residing  in  tuny  county  constituted 
a  county  court,  which,  in  addition  to  judicial  functions,  was 
intrusted  with  the  management  of  all  the  county  business. 
This  court  co-operated  with  the  Governor  in  appointing 
sheriff'  and  coroner.  It  appointed  constables  and  road  com- 
missioners, levied  taxes,  and  when  the  State  had  made  some 
provision  for  schools,  the  county  court  appointed  the  board 
of  school  commissioners.  A  landed  aristocracy  thus  became 
the  State's  fiscal  agents,  the  local  magistrates,  and  the  sole 
managers  of  county  affairs.  The  subdivisions  of  the  county 
for  elections,  schools,  and  care  of  paupers,  were  mere  parti- 
tions of  territory,  without  political  significance. 

These  two  diverse  systems  of  New  England  and  Virginia 
were  destined  to  meet  and  to  strive  for  supremacy  in  Illinois. 

Though  Illinois  forms  a  part  of  the  vast  territory  claimed 


8  Local  Government  in  Illinois. 

by  the  British  Crown  in  virtue  of  Cabot's  vovasce  of  1498, 

•/  \i        ~ 

and  was,  in  [>art,  included  in  the  original  Virginia  grant,  it 
nevertheless  was  in  possession  of  the  French  until  finally 
ceded  to  England  at  the  close  of  the  "French  and  Indian 
"War,"  in  1763.  French  peasants  to  the  number  of  three 
thousand  had  formed  village  settlements  in  the  southern  part 
of  the  State,  on  the  Illinois  and  Mississippi  Rivers.  For 
fifteen  years  they  maintained  a  military  government,  with 
headquarters  at  the  French  village  of  Kaskaskia.  In  1778, 
during  the  Revolutionary  War,  the  State  of  Virginia  sent 
out  a  little  force  of  men,  who  made  their  way  through  the 
wilderness,  took  Kaskaskia,  and  readily  persuaded  all  the 
French  villagers  to  swear  allegiance  to  Virginia.  That  en- 
terprising commonwealth  proceeded  to  organize  Illinois  as  a 
Virginia  county,  including  under  that  name  the  entire  coun- 
try north  of  the  Ohio  and  east  of  the  Mississippi.  Although 
before  a  decade  had  elapsed  Virginia  and  the  other  individual 
States  had  ceded  their  western  territories  to  the  United 
States,  Illinois  had  already  received  some  impress  of  Vir- 
ginian forms  of  government. 

Under  the  famous  "Ordinance  of  1787,"  Congress  estab. 
lished  a  provisional  government  for  the  country  north  of  the 
Ohio,  which  now  took  the  name  of  the  "Northwestern  Ter- 
ritory." This  charter  did  not  provide  for  municipal  corpo- 
rations. It  allowed  tire  people  a  representative  assembly, 
and  exacted  a  very  low  property  qualification  from  electors. 
While  the  Legislature  was  permitted  to  make  all  needful 
laws,  the  Governor,  himself  appointed  by  Congress,  was  au- 
thorized by  the  ordinance  to  appoint  all  minor  officers 
throughout  the  territory.  This,  manifestly,  was  after  the" 
Virginian  pattern,  and  was,  in  fact,  the  work  of  no  less  a  Vir- 
ginian statesman  than  Mr.  Jefferson.  But,  while  the  ordi- 
nance made  no  provision  for  the  immediate  exercise  of  local 
self-government,  it  did  establish  principles  which  formed  a 
basis  for  the  healthy  municipal  life  of  a  later  period.  It  or- 
dained free  trade  in  land,  and  the  law  of  partible  inheritance 
by  which  all  the  children  of  an  intestate  were  equal  heirs. 
Add  to  these  two  the  provision  forever  excluding  slavery, 


Local  Government  in  Illinois.  (J 

and  a  landed  aristocracy  becomes  impossible — a  citizenship 
of  small  freeholders  is  infallibly  guaranteed.  Among;  other 
rights  forever  confirmed  to  the  people  by  this  enlightened 
Charter  of  1787,  we  find  freedom  of  opinion  and  worship, 
trial  by  jury,  the  benefit  of  the  writ  of  habeas  corpus,  the 
judicial  methods  of  the  common  law,  and  proportionate  repre- 
sentation. 

One  by  one  Ohio,  Michigan,  and  Indiana  were  carved  from 
the  Northwestern  Territory,  till,  in  1809,  Illinois  was  erected 
into  a  territorial  government  under  its  present  name.  In 
1818  it  was  allowed  to"  form  a  State  constitution,  and  passed 
from  its  political  wardship  to  the  status  of  a  self-controlling 
commonwealth.  Meantime,  immigration  had  been  almost 
exclusively  directed  to  the  southern  part  of  the  State.  The 
early  French  settlements,  and  Virginia's  temporary  connec- 
tion with  them,  seem  to  have  been  the  determining  influences 
in  producing  a  fact  which  is  the  key  to  much  of  the  legisla- 
tive history  of  the  State,  viz.,  that  the  southern  half  of  the 
State  was  settled  earliest,  and  that  these  pioneers  were  from 
Virginia,  Kentucky,  and  the  Carolinas.  It  was  they  who 
formed  the  Constitution  of  1818,  and  the  instrument  bears 
witness  to  the  origin  of  its  authors.  It  is  true  that  these 
sturdy  frontier-men  were  not  from  aristocratic  ranks  of 
Southern  society.  They  may  be  said'  to  represent  that  re- 
vival of  democracy  and  of  the  old  Anglo-Saxon  spirit  which 
the  second  war  with  England  awakened  in  the  lower  classes 

O 

of  the  South  ;  and  their  exodus  to  the  free  soil  of  the  wilder- 
ness may  be  characterized  as  a  protest  against  the  semi-feud- 
alism that  was  crushing  them  in  Virginia.  Nevertheless, 
they  were  Southern  men,  accustomed  to  Southern  forms  of 
government,  and  intensely  prejudiced  against  anything  that 
savored  of  New  England. 

At  the  time  of  its  admission  to  the  Union,  Illinois  was  di- 
vided into  fifteen  large  counties.  The  Constitution  of  1818, 
and  laws  made  pursuant  to  it,  placed  the  entire  business 
management  of  each  county  in  the  hands  of  a  court  of  three 
County  Commissioners.  We  have  here  a  reproduction  of  the 
Virginia  Court,  with  two  important  differences,  however: 


10  Local  Government  in  Illinois. 

First,  these  Commissioners  were  elected  by  the  people  of  the 
county;  and,  second,  by  a  process  of  differentiation,  this  Illi- 
nois Court  had  no  judical  functions,  the  county  judiciary 
being  made  a  distinct  tribunal.  The  people  also  chose  in 
every  county  a  sheriff',  coroner,  clerk,  treasurer,  surveyor,  and 
recorder.  The  Commissioners  appointed  election  judges,  road 
supervisors,  and  overseers  of  the  poor,  dividing  the  county 
into  districts  for  these  purposes.  Every  election  precinct  was 
entitled  to  two  justices  of  the  peace,  who  were  appointed  by 
the  Governor  of  the  State.  After  1826,  ho\vever,  the  people 
of  each  precinct  were  allowed  to  elect  their  justices.  The 
Commissioners  had  a  narrow  range  of  discretionary  power, 
but  there  was  no  power  given  to  communities  to  control 
local  affairs,  or  to  enact  by-laws  in  promotion  of  neighbor- 
hood interests. 

But  even  at  this  time  there  had  been  planted  in  Illinois, 
and  throughout  the  whole  West,  a  germ  capable,  under  right 
conditions,  of  developing  a  highly  organized  township  system. 
In  dividing  and  designating  the  public  domain,  the  Congress 
of  the  United  States  had  early  adopted  the  system  of  survey 
into  bodies  six  miles  square,  and  had  given  these  divisions 
the  New-England  name  of  townships.  For  purposes  of  record 
and  sale,  each  township  was  divided  into  thirty-six  sections 
a  mile  square,  and  these  were  further  subdivided.  Every 
man  held  his  land  by  a  deed  which  reminded  him  that  his 
freehold  was  part  of  a  township,  and  there  is  much  even  in  a 
name.  But  further  than  this,  the  United  States  had  given  to 
the  people  of  every  township  a  mile  of  land,  the  proceeds  of 
which  should  be  a  permanent  township  school-fund.  To 
give  effect  to  t-his  liberal  provision,  the  State  enacted  a  law 
making  the  township  a  bod}*  corporate  and  politic  for  school 
purposes,  and  authorizing  the  inhabitants  to  elect  school 
officers  and  maintain  free  schools.  Here,  then,  was  a  rudi- 
ment of  local  government.  As  New-England  township  life 
grew  up  around  the  church,  so  western  localism  finds  its 
nucleus  in  the  school  system.  What  more  natural  than  that 
the  county  election  district  should  soon  be  made  to  coincide 
with  the  school  township,  with  a  school-house  for  the  voting- 


Local  Government  in  Illinois.  11 

place?  or,  that  justices  of  the  peace,  constables,  road  super- 
visors, and  overseers  of  the  poor,  should  have  their  jurisdic- 
tions determined  by  those  same  township  lines? 

The  admission  of  Missouri  to  the  Union  as  a  slave  State, 
under  the  "  Compromise  Bill"  of  1820,  seerns  to  have  turned 
the  tide  of  southern  migration  toward  that  quarter;  while 
from  that  time  the  free  State  of  Illinois  began  to  receive  con- 
stant arid  strong  accessions  from  New  England  and  New 
York.  The  northern  counties  particularly  were  filled  with 
swarms  from  the  eastern  hive.  There  resulted  a  sectional 
bitterness  and  strife  in  legislative  councils,  northern  ideas 
gradually  becoming  dominant.  The  struggle  culminated  in 
the  convention  which  met  in  1847  to  revise  the  constitution, 
and  in  good  measure  ceased  with  the  adoption  of  the  revised 
instrument  the  following  year.  This  constitution  met  the 
question  of  local  government  with  a  compromise.  It  provided 
that  the  Legislature  should  enact  a  general  law  for  the  poli- 
tical organization  of  townships,  under  which  any  county 
might  act  whenever  a  majority  of  its  voters  should  so  deter- 
mine. Under  the  Act  accordingly  passed  by  the  General 
Assembly,  all  the  northern  counties  proceeded  promptly  to 
adopt  township  organization,  while  the  southern  counties 
retained  their  old  county  system  described  above.  This  was 
one  of  those  happy,  but  unusual,  compromises  whereby  both 
parties  gain  their  principle.  It  was  rendered  possible  by 
the  distinctly  sectional  line  of  demarcation  which  separated 
the  two  elements  of  population.  In  Ohio  and  Indiana  the 
same  diverse  elements  of  population  had  been  more  thor- 
oughly commingled  ;  and  their  "  compromise  system"  was 
the  outcome  of  mutual  concession — a  hybrid  affair,  in  which 
township  organization  was  very  limited  and  imperfect. 

The  form  of  township  government  adopted  by  the  Illinois 
Legislature  was  a  modification  of  the  New  England  system, 
changes  being  made  to  meet  western  conditions.  It  may  be 
regarded  as  the  model  system  of  the  Union.  One  by  one  the 
southern  counties  of  the  State  have  become  converted  to  it, 
until  at  the  present  time  only  about  one-fifth  of  the  one 
hundred  and  two  counties  in  Illinois  cling  to  the  old  county 


12  Local  Government  in  Illinois. 

system.  Without  comment,  on  the  minute  changes  made  in 
the  course  of  thirty  years'  legislation,  we  may  pass  to  a  view 
of  the  local  institutions  as  they  are  now  in  operation. 

"When  the  people  of  a  county  have  voted  to  adopt  the 
township  system,  the  commissioners  proceed  to  divide  the 
county  into  towns,  making  them  conform  with  the  congres- 
sional or  school  townships,  except  in  special  cases.  Every 
town  is  invested  with  corporate  capacity  to  be  a  party  in 
legal  suits,  to  own  and  control  property,  and  to  make  con- 
tracts. The  annual  town-meeting  of  the  whole  voting  popu- 
lation, held  on  the  first  Tuesday  in  April  for  the  election  of 
town  oflicers  and  the  transaction  of  miscellaneous  business, 
is  the  central  fact  in  the  town  government.  The  following 
is  a  summary  of  what  the  people  may  do  in  town-meeting: 
They  may  make  any  orders  concerning  the  acquisition,  use, 
or  sale  of  town  property;  direct  officers  in  the  exercise  of 
their  duties;  vote  taxes  for  roads  and  bridges,  and  for  other 
lawful  purposes;  vote  to  institute  or  defend  suits  at  law; 
legislate  on  the  subject  of  noxious  weeds,  and  offer  rewards 
to  encourage  the  extermination  of  noxious  plants  and  ver- 
min ;  regulate  the  running  at  large  of  cattle  and  other  ani- 
mals ;  establish  pounds,  and  provide  for  the  impounding  and 
sale  of  stray  and  trespassing  animals;  provide  public  wells 
and  watering-places;  enact  by-laws  and  rules  to  carry  their 
powers  into  effect ;  impose  tines  and  penalties,  and  apply 
such  fines  in  any  manner  conducive  to  the  interests  of  the 
town. 

The  town  officers  are  a  supervisor,  who  is  ex-officio  over- 
seer of  the  poor,  a  clerk,  an  assessor,  and  a  collector,  all  of 
whom  are  chosen  annually;  three  commissioners  of  high- 
ways elected  for  three  years,  one  retiring  every  year;  and 
two  justices  of  the  peace  and  two  constables,  who  hold  office 
for  four  years. 

On  the  morning  appointed  for  the  town-meeting,  the  voters 
assemble,  and  proceed  to  choose  a  moderator,  who  presides  • 
for  the  day.     Balloting  for  town  officers  at  once  begins,  the 
supervisor,  collector,  and  assessor  acting  as  election  judges. 
Every  male  citizen  of  the  United  States  who  is  twenty-one 


Local  Government  in  Illinois.  IB 

years  old,  who  has  resided  in  the  State  a  year,  in  the  county 
ninety  days,  and  in  the  township  thirty  days,  is  entitled  to 
vote  at  town-meeting;  but  a  year's  residence  in  the  town  is 
required  for  eligibility  to  office.  At  two  o'clock,  the  mode- 
rator calls  the  meeting  to  order  for  the  consideration  of  busi- 
ness pertaining  to  those  subjects  already  enumerated.  Every- 
thing is  done  by  the  usual  rules  and  methods  of  parliamentary 
bodies.  The  clerk  of  the  town  is  secretary  of  the  meeting, 
and  preserves  a  record  of  all  the  proceedings.  Special  town- 
meetings  may  be  held  whenever  the  supervisor,  clerk,  and 
justices,  or  any  two  of  them,  together  with  fifteen  voters, 
shall  have  filed  with  the  clerk  a  statement  that  a  meeting  is 
necessary,  for  objects  which  they  specify.  The  clerk  then 
gives  public  notice  in  a  prescribed  way.  Such  special  meet- 
ings act  only  upon  the  subjects  named  in  the  call. 

The  supervisor  is  both  a  town  and  a  county  officer.  He  is 
general  manager  of  town  business,  and  is  also  a  member  of 
the  County  Board,  which  is  composed  of  the  supervisors  of 
the  several  towns,  and  which  has  general  control  of  the 
county  business.  As  a  town  officer,  he  receives  and  pays 
out  all  town  money,  excepting  the  highway  and  school 
funds.  His  financial  report  is  presented  by  the  clerk  at 
town-meetino;.  The  latter  officer  is  the  custodian  of  the 

o 

town's  records,  books,  and  papers. 

The  highway  commissioners,  in  their  oversight  of  roads 
and  bridges,  are  controlled  by  a  large  body  of  statute  law, 
and  by  the  enactments  of  the  town-meeting.  Highways  are 
maintained  by  taxes  levied  on  real  and  personal  property, 
and  by  a  poll  tax  of  two  dollars,  exacted  from  every  able- 
bodied  citizen  between  the  ages  of  twenty-one  and  fifty.  It 
may  be  paid  in  monej',  or  in  labor  under  the  direction  of 
the  commissioners.  One  of  the  commissioners  is  constituted 
treasurer,  and  he  receives  and  pays  out  all  road  moneys. 

The  supervisor  acts  as  overseer  of  the  poor.  The  law 
leaves  it  to  be  determined  by  the  people  of  a  county  whether 
the  separate  towns  or  the  county  at  large  shall  assume  the 
care  of  paupers.  When  the  town  has  the  matter  in  charge, 
the  overseer  generally  provides  for  the  indigent  by  a  system 


14  Local  Government  in  Illinois. 

of  out-door  relief.  If  the  count}'  supports  the  poor,  the 
County  Board  is  authorized  to  establish  a  poor-house  and 
farm  for  the  permanent  care  of  the  destitute,  and  temporary 
relief  is  afforded  by  the  overseers  in  their  respective  towns, 
at  the  county's  expense. 

The  Board  of  Town  Auditors,  composed  of  the  super- 
visor, the  clerk,  and  the  justices,  examine  all  accounts  of 
the  supervisor,  overseer  of  poor,  and  highway  commission- 
el's;  pass  upon  all  claims  and  charges  against  the  town,  and 
audit  all  bills  for  compensation  presented  by  town  officers. 
The  accounts  thus  audited  are  kept  on  tile  by  the  clerk  for 
public  inspection,  and  are  reported  at  the  next  town  meeting. 

The  supervisor,  assessor,  and  clerk  constitute  a  Board  of 
Health.  The  clerk  records  their  doings,  and  reports  them  at 
the  meeting  of  the  town. 

No  stated  salaries  are  paid  to  town  officers.  They  are 
compensated  according  to  a  schedule  of  fixed  fees  for  specific 
services,  or  else  receive  certain  per  diem  wages  for  time  ac- 
tually employed  in  official  duties.  The  tax-collector's  emo- 
lument is  a  percentage. 

The  Justices  of. the  Peace  have  jurisdiction  in  minor 
criminal  cases,  in  civil  suits,  when  the  amount  in  controversy 
does  not  exceed  the  value  of  two  hundred  dollars,  and  in  all 
actions  brought  for  violation  of  city  or  town  ordinances. 

For  school  purposes,  the  township  is  made  a  separate  and 
distinct  corporation,  with  the  legal  style,  "  Trustees  of 
Schools  of  Township  — ,  Range  — ,"  according  to  the  num- 
ber by  which  the  township  is  designated  in  the  Congressional 
Survey.  The  School  Trustees,  three  in  number,  are  usually 
elected  with  the  officers  of  the  civil  township  at  town-meet- 
ing, and  hold  office  for  three  years.  They  organize  by 
choosing  one  of  their  number  President,  and  by  selecting 
some  fourth  person  for  School  Treasurer,  who  shall  also  be, 
ex-officio,  their  secretary.  They  have  authority  to  divide  the 
township  into  school  districts.  It  must  be  remembered  that 
the  township  is  exactly  six  miles  square.  It  is  the  custom 
to  divide  it  into  nine  districts  two  miles  square,  and  to  erect 
a  school-house  near  the  centre  of  each.  As  the  county  roads 


Local  Government  in.  Illinois.  15 

are  in  most  instances  constructed  on  the  section  lines — and 
therefore  run  north  and  south,  east  and  west,  at  intervals  of 
a  mile — the  traveller  expects  to  find  a  school-house  at  every 
alternate  crossing.  The  people  who  live  in  these  sub-dis- 
tricts  elect  three  school  directors,  who  control  the  school  in 
their  neighborhood.  They  are  obliged  to  maintain  'a  free 
school  for  not  less  than  five  nor  more  than  nine  months  in 
every  year,  are  empowered  to  build  and  furnish  school- 
houses,  hire  teachers,  and  fix  their  salaries,  and  determine 
what  studies  shall  be  taught.  They  may  levy  taxes  on  all 
the  taxable  property  in  their  district,  but  are  forbidden  to 
exceed  a  rate  of  two  per  cent,  for  educational  or  three  per 
cent,  for  building  purposes.  They  certify  to  the  township 
school  treasurer  the  amount  they  require,  and  it  is  collected 
as  hereafter  described.  This  last-named  officer  holds  all 
school  funds  belonging  to  the  township,  and  pays  out  on  the 
order  of  the  Directors  of  the  several  districts. 

The  township  funds  for  the  support  of  schools  arise  from 
three  sources.  (1)  The  proceeds  of  the  school  lands  given 
by  the  United  States  Government,  the  interest  from  which 
alone  may  be  expended.  (2)  The  State  annually  levies  on 
all  property  a  tax  of  one  fifth  of  one  per  cent.,  which  con- 
stitutes a  State  school  fund,  and  is  divided  among  the  coun- 

*  c_> 

ties  in  the  ratio  of  their  school  population,  and  is  further 
distributed  among  the  townships  in  the  same  ratio.  (3)  Any 
amount  needed  in  addition  to  these  sums  is  raised  by  taxa- 
tion in  the  districts  under  authority  of  the  directors. 

All  persons  between  the  ages  of  six  and  twenty-one  years 
are  entitled  to  free- school  privileges.  Women  are  eligible 
to  every  school  office  in  the  State,  and  are  frequently  chosen 
directors. 

The  average  Illinois  county  contains  sixteen  townships. 
The  county  government  is  established  at  some  place  desig- 
nated by  the  voters,  and  called  the  "county  seat."  The 
corporate  powers  of  the  county  are  exercised  by  the  County 
Board,  which  in  counties  under  township  organization  is 
composed  of  the  several  town  supervisors,  while  in  other 
counties  it  consists  of  three  commissioners  elected  by  the 


16  Local  Government  in  Illinois. 

people  of  the  whole  county.  The  Board  manage  all  county 
property,  funds,  and  business  ;  erect  a  court-house,  jail,  poor- 
house,  and  any  necessary  buildings;  levy  county  taxes,  audit 
all  accounts  and  claims  against  the  county,  and,  in  counties 
not  under  township  organization,  have  general  oversight  of 
highways  and  paupers.  Even  in  counties  which  have  given 
the  care  of  highways  to  the  townships,  the  County  Board 
may  appropriate  funds  to  aid  in  constructing  the  more  im- 
portant roads  and  expensive  bridges.  The  proceedings  of 
the  Board  are  recorded  by  the  County  Clerk,  who  also  draws 
orders  on  the  Treasurer  for  all  claims  which  they  have 
audited  and  allowed.  In  his  office,  official  bonds  and  other 
important  papers  are  filed  and  recorded. 

The  treasurer,  sheriff,  coroner,  and  surveyor  are  county 
functionaries,  who  perform  the  duties  usually  pertaining  to 
their  offices.  The  County  Superintendent  of  Schools  has 
oversight  of  all  educational  matters,  advises  town  trustees 
and  district  directors,  and  collects  complete  school  statistics, 
which  he  reports  to  the  County  Board,  and  transmits  to  the 
State  Superintendent  of  Public  Instruction. 

Every  county  elects  a  judge,  who  has  full  probate  juris- 
diction, and  appoints  administrators,  executors,  and  guar- 
dians. He  also  has  jurisdiction  in  civil  suits  at  law  involv- 
ing not  more  than  $1,000,  in  such  minor  criminal  cases  as 
are  cognizable  by  a  justice  of  the  peace,  and  may  entertain 
appeals  from  justices'  or  police  courts.  The  State  is  divided 
into  thirteen  judicial  districts,  in.  each  of  which  the  people 
elect  three  judges,  who  constitute  a  Circuit  Court.  The  tri- 
bunal holds  two  or  more  sessions  annually  in  each  county 
within  the  circuit,  and  is  attended  at  every  term  by  a  grand 
and  a  petit  jury.  It  has  a  general  original  jurisdiction,  and 
hears  appeals  from  the  County  Judge  and  from  Justices' 
Courts.  To  complete  the  judicial  system  of  the  State,  there 
are  four  Appellate  Courts  and  one  Supreme  Court  of  last 
resort. 

Taxes,  whether  for  State,  count}',  or  town  purposes,  are 
computed  on  the  basis  of  the  assessment  made  by  the 
Town  Assessoi,  and  are  collected  by  the  Town  Collector. 


Local  Government  in  Illinois.  17 

The  assessor  views  and  values  all  real  estate,  and  requires 
from  all  persons  a  true  list  of  their  personal  property.  The 
assessor,  clerk,  and  supervisor  constitute  a  Town  Equalizing 
Board,  to  hear  complaints,  and  to  adjust  and  correct  the 
assessment.  The  assessors'  books  from  all  the  towns  then 
go  before  the  County  Board,  who  make  such  corrections  as 
shall  cause  valuations  in  one  town  to  bear  just  relation  to 
valuations  in  the  others.  The  County  Clerk  transmits  an 
abstract  of  the  corrected  assessment  of  the  county  to  the 
Auditor  of  State,  who  places  it  in  the  hands  of  a  State 
Board  of  Equalization.  This  hoard  adjusts  valuations  be- 
tween counties.  All  taxes  are  estimated  and  collected  on 
this  finally  corrected  assessment.  The  State  authorities,  the 
county  board,  the  town  supervisors,  the  highway  commis- 
sioners, the  township  school  trustees,  and  the  proper  offi- 
cers of  incorporated  cities  and  villages,  all  certify  to  the 
county  clerk  a  statement  of  the  amount  they  require  for 
their  several  purposes.  The  clerk  prepares  a  collection  book 
for  each  town,  explaining  therein  the  sum  to  be  raised  for 
each  purpose.  Having  collected  the  total  amount,  the  col- 
lector disburses  to  each  proper  authority  its  respective  quota. 

In  all  elections,  whether  for  President  of  the  United 
States,  representatives  of  Congress,  State  officers,  or  county 
officers,  the  township  constitutes  an  election  precinct,  and 
the  supervisor,  assessor,  and  collector  sit  as  the  election 
judges. 

The  words  "town"  and  "township,"  as  they  occur  in  this 
article,  signify  a  territorial  division  of  the  county,  incorpo- 
rated for  purposes  of  local  government.  There  remains  to  be 
mentioned  a  very  numerous  class  of  municipal  corporations 
known  in  Illinois  statutes  as  "villages"  and  "cities."  A 
minimum  population  of  three  hundred,  occupying  territory 
not  more  than  two  square  miles  in  extent,  may,  by  popular 
vote,  become  incorporated  as  a  "  village,"  tinder  provisions 
of  the  general  law.  Six  village  trustees  are  chosen,  and  they 
make  one  of  their  number  president,  thereby  conferring  on 
him  the  general  duties  of  a  mayor.  At  their  discretion,  the 
trustees  appoint  a  clerk,  a  treasurer,  a  street  commissioner,  a 


18  Local  Government  in  Illinois. 

village  constable,  and  other  officers,  as  the}'  deem  necessary. 
The  people  may  elect  a  police  magistrate,  whose  jurisdiction 
is  equal  to  that  of  a  justice  of  the  peace.  When  a  territory 
not  more  than  four  square  miles  in  extent  contains  at  least 
one  thousand  inhabitants,  the  general  law  provides  for  or 
ganization  and  incorporation  as  a  "  city."  Its  government 
will  consist  of  a  maj^or  and  aldermen,  who  constitute  the 
city  council.  Cities  whose  population  does  not  exceed  three 
thousand,  are  divided  into  three  wards,  each  ward  electing 
two  aldermen.  The  number  of  wards  and  aldermen  increases 
in  the  ratio  of  population.  Mayor  and  aldermen  are  elected 
for  two  years.  The  mayor  has  a  veto  on  the  ordinances  of 
the  council,  though  .he  may  be  overruled  by  a  two-thirds  vote. 
The  council  controls  a  wide  range  of  subjects,  which  are  spe- 
cified in  the  statutes  of  the  State.  They  manage  the  city's 
finances,  appropriating  money,  levying  taxes,  and  borrowing 
monev — though  the  city's  total  indebtedness  may  never  ex- 

v  O  v  »/ 

ceed  five  per  cent,  of  its  assessed  valuation.  Their  authority 
extends  to  streets,  gas  and  water  supply,  parks,  harbors, 
markets,  cemeteries,  public  amusements,  the  liquor  traffic, 
police  and  police  courts,  jails  and  workhouses,  the  fire  de- 
partment, and  numerous  other  city  interests.  They  have 
ppwer  to  make  ordinances,  and  affix  penalties,  not  exceeding 
six  months'  imprisonment,  or  a  fine  of  two  hundred  dollars. 
Other  city  officers  vary  with  the  population, and  need  not  be 
enumerated. 

These  incorporated  villages  and  cities  remain  parts  of  the 
civil  township,  and  share  in  the  burdens  and  privileges  of 
town  government.  They  also  remain  parts  of  the  school 
township,- and  are  subject  to  the  general  provisions  of  the 
school  law,  excepting  that  in  school  districts  containing 
more  than  two  thousand  inhabitants  the  three  district  direc- 
tors are  superseded  by  a  board  of  education  consisting  of  six 
members,  and  of  three  additional  members  for  every  ten 
thousand  of  additional  population.  Such  districts  must 
support  schools  from  six  to  ten  months  in  the  year,  may  be 
divided  into  sub-districts,  and  may  employ  a  superintendent 
of  schools. 


Local  Government  in  Illinois.  19 

Such  is  a  synopsis  of  local  self-government  in  Illinois; 
and  such,  with  more  or  less  important  differences,  are  the 
minor  political  institutions  of  nearly  every  State  in  the 
Union.  Without  a  high  conception  of  their  influence  no 
just  estimate  of  the  American  character  is  possible.  They 
have  been  the  training-school  for  popular  rule  and  represent- 
ative institutions.  They  have  acquainted  the  masses  with 
principles  of  practical  politics,  and  have  given  them  that 
"  habit  of  political  debating  and  acting  which  is  essential  to 
the  training  of  intelligent  and  useful  citizens."  The  town- 
ship system,  Old  England's  best  gift  to  the  nation,  has  always 
been  the  groundwork  and  basis  of  democracy  in  America. 


LOCAL  SELF-GOVERNMENT  IN  PENNSYLVANIA. 


Few  perhaps  fully  realize  the  importance  of  a  comprehen- 
sive study  of  local  institutions.  The  centralizing  tendencies 
of  the  present  time  are  so  strong,  that  the  attention  of  the 
student  of  political  science  is  apt  to  be  concentrated  upon 
federal  rather  than  on  local  authority.  He  is  prone  to  over- 
look the  fact  that  the  nation  is  a  highly  composite  organism 
of  which  the  state,  the  county,  and  the  township,  are  sub- 
ordinate, but  very  essential  members.  He  is  liable  to  forget 
that  an  inadequate  or  improper  performance  of  functions  by 
the  latter  is  attended  by  an  infusion  of  disorder,  which  in- 
terrupts the  harmonious  workings  of  the  whole. 

The  scope  of  the  present  paper  will  not  extend  beyond  a 
sketch  of  those  three  departments  of  local  management 
embraced  under  the  heads  of  Rates  and  Levies,  Roads  and 
Bridges,  and  the  Poor.  The  earl}'  administration  of  colonial 
justice  has  already  been  treated  in  an  excellent  essay  on  the 
"Courts  of  Pennsylvania  in  the  17th  Century,"  by  Mr.  Law- 
rence Lewis,  Jr.,  while  the  question  of  Public  Schools  will 
be  reserved  for  future  discussion. 

Before  proceeding  to  give  a  minute  description  of  Local 
Self-government  as  at  present  administered  in  the  Quaker 
State,  we  shall  briefly  consider  its  institutional  development. 
Institutions  are  not  the  creations  of  a  single  mind  nor  the 
products  of  a  separate  age.  They  represent  a  growth,  an 
evolutionary  process.  They  are  the  great  unities  of  history. 
They  progress  as  the  social  order  changes,  and  we  must  dili- 
gently study  their  varying  stages  of  development  to  intelli- 
gently comprehend  their  present  character. 

In  the  first  place,  we  shall  portray  the  method  of  local 
administration  which  obtained  when  the  Duke  of  York 
possessed  the  territory  which  now  comprises  the  States  of 
20 


Local  Self-Government  in  Pennsylvania.  21 

New  York,  Pennsylvania,  Delaware,  and  part  of  New  Jersey. 
We  venture  to  do  so  because  of  the  interest  such  a  sketch 
will  afford  from  an  historical  point  of  view,  and  also  because 
it  will  furnish  an  excellent  parallel  to  the  later  system  of 
Pennsylvania  under  Proprietary  government.  Moreover,  the 
Duke's  "  Book  of  Lawes,"  with  few  exceptions,  formed  the 
legal  basis  of  the  proceedings  of  the  courts  upon  the  Dela- 
ware after  the  year  1676.1  We  shall  speak  more  particularly 
of  these  courts  in  relation  to  their  legislative  character  in  a 
subsequent  part  of  the  present  paper.  They  claim  our  atten- 
tion because  they  possessed  not  only  judicial  functions,  but 
exercised  in  addition  an  important  control  over  local  affairs, 
during  the  years  which  immediately  preceded  the  arrival  of 
William  Penn. 

The  administration  of  the  Duke  of  York  was  a  close 
imitation  of  the  English  system.  It  recognized  the  old 
municipal  divisions  of  ridings,  towns,  and  parishes.  The 
chief  officer  of  the  former  was  a  High  Sheriff,  while  the 
interests  of  the  latter  were  presided  over  by  a  Constable,  and 
a  Board  of  Overseers,  at  first  eight,  but  afterwards  four  in 
number.  The  sheriff  was  selected  yearly  by  the  governor  from 
three  nominees  presented  to  him  by  the  justices  of  the  last 
sessions.  The  town  officers  were  directly  the  choice  of  the 
people.  The  constable  was  chosen  for  one  year;  the  overseers 
for  two,  one-half  of  them  retiring  annually.  Under  this 
primary  colonial  regime  the  principal  unit  of  local  govern- 
ment was  the  town  or  parish.  Each  town  had  its  own  peculiar 
constitution  and  by-laws,  which,  when  sanctioned  by  the 
court  of  sessions,  became  the  basis  of  its  own  administration. 
Such  constitution  and  laws  were  framed  by  the  constable  and 
a  majority  of  the  overseers,  and  local  observance  became 
binding  upon  local  inhabitants.  Every  town  had  likewise 

1  That  these  enactments  were  in  force  in  1676  is  clear  by  the  following. 
It  was  one  of  the  provisions  of  the  "  Book  of  Lawes"  that,  "  no  jury  shall 
exceed  the  number  of  seaven  nor  be  under  six  unless  in  special  causes  upon 
Life  and  Death."  This  year,  at  Whorekill,  in  a  suit  about  some  tobacco,  ''the 
president  of  the  court  and  six,  of  seven  of  the  jury,  acknowledged  their  pro- 
ceedings to  be  erroneous,  etc." — Hazard,  Annals  of  Pennsylvania,  p.  425. 

'  B 


22  Local  Self-Government  in  Pennsylvania. 

its  own  court,1  held  at  convenient  intervals,  where  small  eases 
were  heard  and  decided  by  its  officers.  The  constable  and 
overseers  were  also,  ex-offirio,  church-wardens,  and  in  this 
capacity  were  the  ecclesiastical  governors  and  moral  guar- 
dians of  the  parish.  They  not  only  made  provision  in  the 
rates  for  the  support  of  the  church  and  minister,  but  it  was 
their  further  duty  to  make  known  to  the  semi-annual  court 
of  sessions  all  unpunished  transgressions  of  the  moral  code.2 
There  were  two  taxes,  the  public  charge,  the  proceeds  of 
which  were  applied  to  the  maintenance  of  the  general  civil, 
military,  and  ecclesiastical  authority ;  and  the  town  rate, 
which  went  to  the  support  of  purely  local  government. 
Both  were  levied  and  collected  in  exactly  the  same  manner. 
Upon  the  receipt  of  a  "  precept"  from  the  sheriff  of  the  riding, 
the  constable  and  overseers  of  the  various  towns  made  out  a 
list  of  taxable  persons  and  appraised  all  real  and  personal 
property.  These  statements  were  returned  to  the  sheriff,  who, 
having  examined  and  certified  them,  transmitted  them  to  the 
governor.  If  any  inhabitant  thought  he  had  been  unfairly 
dealt  with  in  his  assessment,  he  could  make  complaint  to  the 
court  of  sessions,  and  there  have  his  grievance  redressed. 
The  law  which  governed  collections  reads  as  follows :  "The 
constable  shall  appoint  a  day  and  place  and  give  reasonable 
warning  to  the  inhabitants  to  bring  in  their  proportions, 
upon  which  every  man  so  warned  shall  duely  attend  to  bring 
in  his  rates,  etc."3  Constables  were  held  responsible  for  the 

1  The  "  Towne.  Court"  of  the  Duke's  Laws  is  a  very  ancient  institution. 
It  is  the  court  of  the  tithing  or  township  transformed.     It  represents  the 
survival  of  the   Anglo-Saxon  "  tun-gemot."      The  establishment  of  these 
local  self-governing  communities  in  the  English   colonies  of  America,  is  sim- 
ply a  repetition  of  the  course  pursued  by  our  Saxon  forefathers,  in  their  set- 
tlement of  Britain. 

2  This  kind  of  censorship  was  exercised,  during  the  first  few  years  of  Pro- 
prietary rule,  by  the  Grand  Jury.     For  an  example,  see  Watson,  Annals  of 
Philadelphia,  vol.  ii.  p.  91. 

The  following  presentment  at  the  Chester  Co.  Court,  in  1683,  though  of  a 
quite  different  character,  is  somewhat  amusing:  "The  Grand  Jury  present 
want  of  rings  to  the  snouts  of  swine." 

3  Duke  of  York's  Laws,  pp.  49,  50. 


Locdl  Self -Government  in  Pennsylvania. 

collection  of  the  rates,  and  were  empowered  to  recover  arrear- 
ages by  process  of  law,  even  after  their  term 'of  office  had 
expired.  When  the  full  amount  of  the  levy  could  not  be 
obtained,  the  deficiency  was  supplied  by  an  extra  assessment. 
Produce  was  received  instead  of  money,  in  payment  of  the 
town  and  public  taxes.  None  were  exempt  from  taxation 
except  justices  of  the  peace  and  indigent  persons,  and  even 
the  justices  were  subsequently  made  liable  for  the  town  levy. 
Local  taxation  was  designed  chiefly  for  the  support  of  the 
poor  and  for  the  maintenance  of  parochial  churches.1  The 
needy  and  the  helpless  of  every  parish  were  the  especial 
charge  of  the  church  wardens.  They  were  doubtless  con- 
sidered more  in  the  light  of  an  ecclesiastical  than  a  civil  re- 
sponsibility. Under  this  regime,  we  see  that  county  govern- 
ment in  the  form  we  now.  know  it,  did  not  practically  exist. 
The  riding,  it  is  true,  came  in  as  a  division  between  the  town 
and  the  province,  but  it  had  little  or  no  significance  as  a 
political  factor.  It  simply  represented  an  aggregation  of 
towns  or  parishes,  and  possessed  no  organized  system  of 
municipal  government.  That  such  was  the  case  is  shown  by 
the  following  law  regarding  lunatics.  "That  in  regard  the 
conditions  of  distracted  persons  may  bee  both  very  charge- 
able and  troublesome,  and  so  will  prove  too  great  a  burthen 
for  one  towne  alone  to  beare,  each  towne  in  the  rideing  where 
such  person  or  persons  shall  happen  to  bee,  are  to  contribute 

1  "Churches  shall  bee  built  within  three  years  after  this  assize,  to  which 
end  a  Towne  Bute  may  bee  made,  to  begin  with  thisyeare." — Duke  of  York's 
Laws,  p.  C3. 

Upon  the  Delaware,  ministers  seem  to  have  been  supported  by  voluntary 
subscriptions.  The  petition  of  the  Court  of  New  Castle  to  the  governor  in 
1678  was  to  the  effect  that  he  would  "  grant  leave  and  permission  to  obtain 
and  have  an  orthodox  minister,  to  be  maintained  by  the  gift  of  the  free  and 
willing  givers." — Hazard,  Annals,  p.  455.  This  request  was  granted. — Ibid. 

p:  458. 

Ministers  who  were  supported  out  of  the  "  Towne  Rate,"  elsewhere  in  the 
Duke's  dominions,  could  not  always  have  been  in  the  established  church, 
since,  according  to  the  report  of  Bishop  Compton  in  1680,  there  were  at 
that  time  only/rwr  clergymen  of  the  Church  of  England  in  North  America. 
— Hazard,  Annals,  p.  469. 


24  Local  Self-Government  in  Pennsylvania. 

towards  the  charge  which  may  arise  upon  such  occasions."1 
Each  town,  therefore,  helped  to  bear  the  burden,  but  the  con- 
tributions were  made  distinctly  and  separately,  and  not  as 
individual  quotas  to  a  permanent  county  rate.  The  town  or 
parish  was  of  much  greater  importance  than  in  later  times. 
It  dealt  with  the  leading  questions  of  local  government,  and 
its  constable  and  overseers  formed  a  legislative  body  whose 
acts,  as  we  have  already  seen,  could  only  be  disallowed  by 
judicial  negation.2 

After  the  conquest  of  the  Dutch  settlements  upon  the 
Delaware  by  Sir  Robert  Carre,  in  1664,  it  was  agreed  that 
the  magistrates  then  in  power  should  be  continued,  for  a  time 
at  least,  in  the  enjoyment  of  their  civil  jurisdiction.  In 
1668  we  have  the  record  of  the  constitution  of  a  court,  con- 
sisting of  a  schout  and  five  counsellors,  appointed  for  two 
years.3  English  laws  were  not  immediately  imposed  upon 
the  people,  but  it  was  ordained  that  the  Duke's  enactments 
"be  showed  and  frequently  communicated  to  the  said  coun- 
sellors, and  all  others,  to  the  end  that  being  therewith  ac- 
quainted, the  practice  of  them  also  in  convenient  time  be 
established."4  The  result  thus  gradually  aimed  at  was  finally 
consummated  by  the  precept  of  1672,  which  declared  "  Eng- 
lish laws  to  be  established  in  the  town  and  river.  The  office 
of  schout  to  be  converted  into  sheriff  for  the  corporation  and 
river,  to  be  chosen  annually."5  In  1676  a  proclamation  from 
Governor  Andross  set  forth  that  the  Duke's  "Book  of  Lawes," 
with  the  exception  of  the  enactments  regarding  constables' 

1  Duke  of  York's  Laws,  p.  64. 

2  "  The  Constable  by  and  with  the  consent  of  five  at  least  of  the  overseers 
for  the  time  being,  have  power  to  oYdaine  such  and  so  many  peculicr  Con- 
si  itutions  as  are  necessary  to  the  welfare  and  improvement  of  their  Towne 
and  if  any  inhabitants  shall  neglect  or  refuse  to  observe  them,  the  Constable 
and  overseers  shall  have  power  to  Levie  (such)  fines  by  distress ;    Provided 
that  they  (the  constitutions)  bee  not  of  a  Criminall  Nature  and  that  every 
such  peculier  Constitution  be  confirmed  by  the  Court  of  Sessions  within  four 
months  (later  by  the  next  Court)  after  the  making  thereof." — pp.  50,  51. 

3  Hazard,  Annals,  p.  371.  4  Ibid.  p.  372. 
5  Ibid.  p.  397. 


Local  Self -Government  in  Pennsylvania.  25 

courts,1  county  rates,  and  a  few  other  matters  which  pertained 
particularly  to  Long  Island,  should  form  the  basis  of*  civil 
administration  along  the  Delaware.  There  were  at  this  time 
three  general  ^courts  in  operation :  one  at  New  Castle,  one  at 
Upland,  and  one  at  Whorekill.  These  establishments  were  not 
only  of  a  judicial  nature,  but  were  also  endowed  with  legis- 
lative authority.  They  could  enact  "  all  necessary  by-laws 
or  orders  (not  repugnant  to  the  laws  of  the  governor),  to  be 
binding  for  the  space  of  one  whole  year,"2  for  the  adminis- 
tration of  local  matters  within  their  respective  districts. 
They  had  power  to  make  "  fitting  rates  for  highways,  poor, 
and  other  necessaries."3  This  levy,  on  account  of  convenience, 
generally  took  the  form  of  a  poll-tax  ;4  the  constables  making 
out  the  list  of  "tydables."5  It  was  the  duty  of  the  sheriff  to 
make  collections.6  No  rates  could  be  laid  until  the  sanction 
of  the  governor  had  been  obtained.7  For  the  better  manage- 
ment of  roads  and  bridges,  the  court  appointed  yearly  a 
number  of  men  to  be  overseers  of  highways  and  viewers  of 
fences.8 

The  court  also  ordered  the  building  and  repair  of  churches9 
and  selected  the  church  wardens.10  No  mention  is  made  of 
the  manner  in  which  the  poor  were  taken  care  of,  but  it  is 
altogether  likely  that  they  were  the  charge  of  the  church 

1  It  is  reasonably  certain,  that,  notwithstanding  Gov.  Andross'  proclama- 
tion, constables'  courts  were  in  full  operation  upon  the  Delaware.     One  had 
been  established  at  New  Castle  in  1672  (Hazard,  Annals,  p.  398-7),  and 
we  have  no  record  showing  that  it  ceased  to  exercise  its  powers  after  the 
above-mentioned  ordinance  was  promulgated.     On  the  contrary,  the  order 
issued  in  1677,  that  the  commons  were  to  be  regulated  by  the  town,  shows 
that  New  Castle  still  had  some  kind  of  separate  government.     In   1678, 
permission  was  given  to  Elseburgh,  a  place  within  the  jurisdiction  of  the 
justices  of  New  Castle,  to  have  a  constable's  court.     (Hazard,  Annals,  p. 
458-9.)     The  record  of  the  establishment  of  these  courts  in  America  fur- 
nishes one  more  example  of  the  reproduction  of  English  institutions  upon 
colonial  soil.     The  evidence  of  their  survival  is-  a  point  of  some  historical 
interest,  as  it  makes  against  the  idea  of  Stubbs  and  Hallam,  who  are  inclined 
to  deny  that  the  petty  constable  ever  possessed  judicial  authority. 

2  Hazard,  Annals,  p.  427.  3  Ibid  p.  441.  4  Ibid.  p.  447. 
5  Ibid.  p.  442.                                    6  Ibid.  p.  447.                7  Ibid.  p.  428. 
8  Ibid.  p.  480.                                    9  Ibid.  p.  467.               10  Ibid.  p.  461. 


26  Local  Self-Government  in  Pennsylvania. 

wardens,  as  in  Xe\v  York.  Though  the  court  had  the  power 
to  lay  a  road-tax,  we  find  no  record  that  such  a  course  was 
pursued.  It  was  the  survival  of  an  old  feudal  custom  in 
England  which  compelled  all  the  inhabitants  of  a  particu- 
lar district  to  work  upon  the  highways  or  else  to  suiter 
certain  pecuniary  penalties  in  case  they  failed  to  fulfil  the 
requirement.  This  system  was  in  vogue  in  the  time  of 
Charles  II.,1  and  we  have  evidence  that  it  also  obtained  in 
Pennsylvania.  "  The  imposition  of  a  fine  of  25  gilders,  for 
neglecting  to  work  on  the  roads,  was  among  the  last  acts  of 
Upland  Court  under  the  Duke's  government."2 

The  tenth  section  of  the  charter  to  William  Penn  gave 
him  the  power  to  divide  u  the  country  and  islands  into  towns, 
hundreds3  and  counties."  By  a  subsequent  clause  he  also  re- 
ceived authority  to  erect  manors,4  and  to  introduce  thereon 

1  See  Statutes  of  the  Realm,  22  Charles  II.,  ch.  12,  §  10,  for  fines  imposed. 
In  case  the  labor  required  by  statute  was  not  sufficient  to  complete  all  neces- 
sary repairs,  a  tax  could  be  imposed  to  defray  the  expense  of  finishing  the 
remaining  work. — Ibid.  \  11. 

2  Smith,  History  of  Delaware  Co.,  p.  124. 

3  We  have  not  been  able  to  find  any  evidence  to  show  that  hundreds  ever 
existed  as  local  divisions  in  Pennsylvania,  although  they  were  common  in 
Maryland  and  Delaware. 

4  Mr.  F.  D.  Stone,  Librarian  of  the  Pennsylvania  Historical  Society,  has 
called  our  attention  to  what  may  have  been  a  manor  in  full  operation  upon 
a  similar  basis  to  those  in  England.     It  is  cited  in  Dr.  George  Smith's 
History  of  Delaware  County.     It  bore  the  name  of  the  Welsh  Barony,  and 
consisted  of  a  tract  of  land  comprising  about  40,000  acres.     The  settlers 
were  Welsh  Quakers,  and  amongst  other  immunities  granted  to  them  by  their 
charter,  was  the  privilege  to  have  "  our  bounds  and   limits  by  ourselves, 
within  the  which  all  causes,  Quarrels,  crimes,  and  titles  [shall  be]  tryed  and 
wholly  determined  by  officers,  magistrates  [and]  jurors  of  our  own  language, 
which  are  our  equals." 

Tradition  has  it  that  a  certain  stone  building  situated  upon  the  manor  of 
Moreland,  was  used  in  early  times  as  a  prison-house  for  the  refractory 
tenants  and  servants  of  the  first  Chief  Justice.  The  whole  subject  is  an 
exceedingly  interesting  one,  and  will  claim  the  attention  of  the  writer  in  a 
future  paper.  The  subject  of  the  Manorial  System  of  Maryland  is  under 
investigation  by  Mr.  John  Johnson,  a  graduate  of  the  Johns  Hopkins  Uni- 
versity. Mrs.  Martha  J.  Lamb  has  undertaken  the  "Historic  Manors  of 
New  York." 


Local  Self-Government  in  Pennsylvania.  27 

the  English  system  of  manorial  government.  We  have  seen 
that  the  tendency  of  the  Duke  of  York's  laws  was  to  centre 
local  government  in  the  towns.  Under  the  Proprietary  ad- 
ministration a  totally  different  order  of  things  was  instituted. 
The  county  now  became  the  element  of  primal  importance. 
In  fact  it  may  be  safely  asserted,  that,  during  nearly  the  entire 
portion  of  the  first  half-century  of  the  government  of  Penn 
and  his  descendants,  the  town  had  little  or  no  significance 
as  a  political  division.  The  county  court  of  general  sessions 
was  the  real  centre  of  authority,  and  all  local  affairs  were 
administered  by  officers  which  it  commissioned.1  Though 
the  town  was  afterwards  admitted  to  a  share  of  municipal 
government,  it  has  never  quite  regained  the  position  it  held 
previous  to  1682.  "We  shall  further  notice,  in  passing,  how 
some  matters  were  gradually  handed  over,  conditionally,  to 
township  control. 

By  an  act  passed  in  1682,  which  was  subsequently  declared 
a  fundamental  law,  it  was  enjoined  that  no  separate  tax  at 
any  time  should  continue  longer  than  one  year.  The  objects 
for  which  county  taxes  were  raised,  were  "  for  the  support  of 
the  Poor,  building  of  prisons,  or  repairing  them,  paying  the 
salary  of  members  belonging  to  the  assembly,  paying  for 
Wolfs  Heads,  expence  of  Judges,  with  many  other  necessary 
charges."2  It  was  the  duty  of  the  justices  of  the  court  of 
sessions,  with  the  assistance  of  the  grand  jury,  to  estimate 
the  general  county  expenses,  and  to  make  an  assessment,  upon 
the  basis  of  the  provincial  tax,  to  defray  them.  The  enact- 
ment of  1696  inaugurated  a  much  more  convenient  system. 
It  provided  that  six  assessors  should  be  annually  chosen  for 
each  county,  to  act  in  conjunction  with  the  justices  and 
grand  jury,  in  determining  public  charges.  This  body  could 
levy  a  rate  of  one  penny  in  the  pound,  and  six  shillings  per 
caput  upon  all  freemen  between  16  and  60  years  of  age.  The 

'  "  The  court  about  this  time  (1G85)  appointed  the  justices,  constables, 
road  overseers,  etc." — Watson,  Annals  of  Philadelphia,  vol.  i.  p.  304.  Seven 
years  later,  in  one  county  at  least,  the  road  overseers  were  elected  by  the 
people. — See  Records  of  Chester  Co.  Court  for  1692. 

2  Laws  of  the  Province  of  Penna.,  1682-1700,  p.  233. 


28  Local  Self -Government  in  Pennsylvania. 

assessors  heard  and  decided  all  appeals.  The  Proprietary 
and  his  deputies  were  alone  exempt  from  taxation.  It  was 
the  duty  of  the  various  constables  to  bring  the  assessors  a 
list  of  the  taxable  inhabitants  of  their  districts,  together  with 
an  accurate  valuation  of  property  liable  to  taxation.  The 
assessment  board  determined  the  required  number  of  collec- 
tors and  appointed  them.  The  county  treasurer  was  also  an 
appointee  of  this  body.  It  seems  that  the  above  method  for 
raising  county  rates  did  not  prove  satisfactory,  since  nume- 
rous supplemental  acts  were  passed  to  make  provision  for  the 
collection  of  arrearages. 

In  1724  a  new  system  was  introduced,  \vhich,  though  not 
unlike  the  former  in  its  essential  features,  yet  prescribed  a 
mode  of  procedure  somewhat  different  from  that  recognized 
by  previous  law.  It  provided  for  the  election  of  three  com- 
missioners to  perform  the  functions  which  had  hitherto  be- 
longed to  the  court  of  sessions,  with  a  few  additional  duties. 
The  commissioners  issued  the  "  precepts"  to  the  constables, 
constituted  a  tribunal  for  trying  appeals,  inaugurated  pro- 
ceedings against  delinquent  collectors,  and  imposed  pecuniary 
penalties  upon  the  county  treasurer,  and  the  assessors  for 
neglect  of  duty.  To  facilitate  the  collection  of  rates,  each 
county  was  divided  into  a  definite  number  of  districts.  The 
limit  to  the  assessment  provided  for  by  this  enactment,  was 
fixed  at  three  pence  in  the  pound,  and  a  nine  shillings  poll- 
tax. 

The  Revolution  did  not  change  the  form  of  local  govern- 
ment, which  had  obtained  immediately  before  the  year  1776. 
There  \vas  no  distinct  difference  between  the  administration 
of  the  province  and  of  the  commonwealth.  But  in  relation 
to  the  topic  at  present  under  consideration,  an  advance  was 
made  towards  the  present  system  in  1779.  In  that  year  the 
assessment  board,  consisting  of  the  three  commissioners  and 
six  county  assessors,  appointed1  twro  assistant  assessors  for  each 
township,  to  discharge  the  duties  which  had  hitherto  devolved 
upon  the  constables,  in  making  the  returns  of  taxable  inhabit- 

1  These  officers  were  afterwards  elected  by  the  people. 


Local  Self-Government  in  Pennsylvania.  29 

ants  and  property.  By  this  act  stringent  measures  were  also 
adopted  for  collecting  unpaid  rates.  If  settlement  was  not 
made  within  thirty  days,  the  delinquent's  goods  could  be  sold ; 
and  if,  after  three  months'  time,  his  obligations  had  not  been 
met,  his  real  estate  could  be  seized  and  disposed  of  by  the 
commissioners  to  satisfy  the  claim.  The  office  of  clerk  of  the 
commissioners,  or  county  clerk,  which  still  exists,  was  first 
inaugurated  at  this  time.  Supplemental  legislation  this  same 
year  enacted,  that  the  owners  and  not  the  occupiers  of  real 
estate  should  be  taxed.  Afterwards  a  proviso  was  introduced 
which  caused  all  local  rates  to  be  assessed  upon  the  basis  of 
the  last  State  tax.  The  principle  of  the  division  of  labor  was 
carried  out  in  making  the  assessment,  each  county  assessor, 
with  the  two  assistants,  instead  of  the  whole  board,  perform- 
ing this  duty  for  every  separate  district.  Collectors  were 
now  appointed  by  the  commissioners  alone.  A  return  of  all 
county  levies  was  required  to  be  made  annually  to  the  general 
assembly. 

In  early  colonial  times  the  management  of  roads  and 
bridges  was  vested  in  the  county.  All  public  highways 
were  laid  out  by  order  of  the  governor  and  council,1  while 
private  roads,  connecting  with  them,  and  cart-ways  leading 
to  landing-places,  were  opened-up  at  the  instance  of  the  court 
of  quarter  sessions,2  if  the  viewers  had  previously  made  a 
favorable  report  upon  the  projected  enterprise.  Roads  and 
bridges  were  made  at  the  expense  of  the  county ;  but  it  was 
not  unusual  for  a  lottery3  to  be  established  to  liquidate  the 
cost  of  the  undertakings.  The  court  named  the  overseers, 

1  Colonial  Records,  vol.  i.  p.  163. 

2  The  court  gave  the  order  to  proceed  with  the  work,  after  the  grand  jury 
had  presented  the  need  of  a  new  road.    Smith  (Hist.  Del.  Co.,  p.  163)  quotes 
from  the  Chester  County  Court  records  the  following :  "  The  road  from  Darby 
to  Haverford  to  be  laid  out  by  the  grand  jury  and  other  neighbors."     In 
1699,  six  viewers  were  appointed  to  do  work  of  this  kind  ;  or  rather  to  make 
a  report  upon  proposals  regarding  new  roads. 

3  Lotteries  were  often  made  use  of  to  raise  funds  to  open  roads,  construct 
bridges,  and  build  churches.     For  legislation  authorizing  these  establish- 
ments, see  Laws  of  Pennsylvania. 


30  Local  Self- Government  in  Pennsylvania. 

and  these  officers  were  responsible  for  the  good  repair  of  all 
highways  within  their  territorial  limit.  Every  freeholder 
wits  compelled  when  summoned  to  work  upon  the  roads, 
under  penalty  of  a  tine  if  he  refused  to  ohey.  Later  enact- 
ments transferred  highways  from  county  to  township  super- 
vision, directing  that  the  latter  should  assume  all  financial 
burdens  entailed  in  their  management.  The  overseers  or 
supervisors  were  thenceforth  township  officers,  and  two  were 
elected  annually  for  each  municipality.  They  were  em- 
powered to  levy  a  road  tax,  within  certain  limits,  after 
having  obtained  the  requisite  permission  from  two  justices 
of  the  peace.  They  could  also  hire  laborers  to  repair  high- 
ways and  bridges  it'  they  thought  fit,  instead  of  summoning 
the  inhabitants  to  do  the  work  as  heretofore. 

The  Poor  question  has  occupied  the  attention  of  the  law- 
makers of  Pennsylvania  to  a  considerable  extent;  and  much 
legislation  is  to  be  found  upon  the  subject  among  the  acts  of 
the  general  assembly.  In  early  times  numerous  experiments 
were  tried,  but  the  law  of  1771  seems  to  have  been  the  one, 
which,  on  the  whole,  yielded  the  most  satisfactory  results. 
It  does  not  differ  very  materially  from  the  present  poor  law 
of  the  State.  At  an  earlier  period  charity  had  been  dispensed 
at  the  instance  and  discretion  of  the  county  court;  the  funds 
being  supplied  out  of  the  regular  county  rate.  The  poor  tax 
had  preference  over  all  others,  and  was  first  paid  in  the  dis- 
bursement of  the  moneys.  A  curious  expedient  wras  resorted 
to  to  prevent  undeserving  persons  from  receiving  public  sup- 
port. Every  recipient  of  reltef  was  obliged  to  wear  a  badge 
"with  a  large  Roman  (P)  together  with  the  first  Letter  of 
the  name  of  the  county,  city,  or  place,  whereof  such  poor 
person  is  an  inhabitant,  cut  either  in  red  or  blue  cloth."1 

1  It  was  customary  in  England,  in  addition  to  the  ordinary  punishment,  to 
mark  criminals  with  the  initial  letter  of  the  crime  for  which  they  had  been 
convicted.  This  proceeding  was  also  followed  in  Pennsylvania.  A  part  of 
the  sentence  against  Long  Finne,  for  his  rebellions  acts,  was  that  he  should 
be  "  branded  on  the  face  with  the  letter  R."  Hazard,  Annals,  p.  378.  See 
also  Records  of  Chester  Court,  January  1,  1693,  for  the  punishment  accorded 
to  a  woman  who  had  been  found  guilty  of  fornication. 


Local  Self-  Government  in  Pen  n  sylva  nia.  31 

The  act  of  1771  provided  for  the  appointment  of  two  over- 
seers in  each  township,  by  the  justices  of  the  peace,  at  a  yearly 
meeting  specially  convened  for  the  purpose.  These  officers 
could,  with  the  authority  of  two  justices,  levy  a  three-penny 
rate  on  property,  and  a  six  shillings  poll-tax  as  often  as  was 
thought  advisable.  The  amount  thus  raised  was  employed 
to  provide  subsistence,  shelter,  and  employment  for  all  those 
whom  misfortune  had  made  a  burden  to  society.  The  tax 
was  recoverable  by  ordinary  process  of  law,  and  was  levied 
on  the  same  basis  as  the  county  dues.  The  overseers  were 
responsible  for  the  collection  of  the  amount  assessed,  and  if 
they  refused  to  pay  over  moneys  in  their  possession,  they 
were  deemed  guilty  of  a  misdemeanor  and  punished  with 
imprisonment.  They  were  required  to  keep  an  account  of  all 
receipts  and  expenditures,  and  their  books  were  audited  by 
three  freeholders  annually  chosen  by  the  people.  A  list  of 
the  poor  was  kept  on  record,  and  an  order  from  a  justice  of 
the  peace  was  necessary  for  the  inscription  of  new  names 
therein.  Strongly  protective  measures  were  adopted  against 
the  growth  of  pauperism,  as  for  example,  the  requirements 
for  gaining  a  legal  settlement  in  a  township,  and  the  restric- 
tions attached  to  the  removal  of  the  poor  from  one  district  to 
another.  New-comers  had  to  bring  with  them  certificates, 
and  householders  must  give  notice  of  the  arrivals  of  guests 
coming  from  any  place  outside  of  the  province,  except  Europe. 
Any  one,  to  become  legally  settled,  must  have  been  an  office- 
holder for  one  year,  or  must  have  resided  in  the  same  locality 
at  least  two  years,  and  contributed  to  the  poor  fund.  Widows 
were  deemed  settled  in  the  same  place  as  their  former  hus- 
bands, and  indented  servants  must  have  performed  one  year 
of  service  in  some  particular  locality  to  fulfil  the  required 
conditions  of  residence.  All  having  near  relatives  who  were 
paupers,  were  compelled  by  the  province  to  support  them,  if 
in  a  position  to  do  so.  Notwithstanding  all  this  defensive 
legislation,  and  despite  the  influence  of  these  well-timed 
measures,  it  would  appear  that  the  demands  upon  public 
charity  were  augmented  instead  of  diminished.  Complaints 
were  made  from  time  to  time  that  the  means  for  supporting 


32  Local  Sclf-Government  in  Pennsylvania. 

the  poor  were  entirely  inadequate,  and  in  1779,  an  act  was 
passed  limiting  the  rate  at  seven  shillings  and  six  pence  in 
the  pound,  and  at  not  more  than  six  pounds,  and  not  less 
than  three  pounds  per  poll.1 

The  Present  System. 

Local  self-government  in  Pennsylvania  at  the  present  time 
affords  a  peculiarly  interesting  study,  representing  as  it  does 
a  condition  of  affairs  in  which  neither  the  town  polity  of 
New  England  nor  the  county  administration  of  the  South, 
forms  the  decidedly  predominating  element.  It  occupies  the 
middle-ground  between  these  two  opposing  phases  of  local 
life.  In  the  Southern  States  the  county  is  the  more  impor- 
tant factor,  and  its  subdivisions  are  such  only  in  name,  exer- 
cising hut  little  control  over  'their  own  affairs.  In  New 
England,  on  the  contrary,  the  highest  political  vitality  is  to 
be  found  in  the  town.  The  system  of  Pennsylvania  aims  at 
a  partition  of  powers.  The  officers  of  the  township  assume 
the  management  of  local  roads  and  highways,  and  in  some 
counties  provide  also  for  the  support  of  the  pauper  popula- 
tion. But  while  they  have  the  power  to  impose  a  tax  for 
these  purposes,  rates  can  only  be  levied  upon  the  basis 'of  the 
last  adjusted  county  assessment,  and  the  law  prescribes  certain 
limits  beyond  which  they  cannot  go.  Furthermore,  no  pro- 

1  An  explanation  of  this  seemingly  high  rate  is  to  be  found  in  the  fact, 
that  the  continental  currency  had  that  year  reached  a  very  low  state  of 
depreciation.  There  has  been  preserved  in  the  Library  of  the  Pennsylvania 
Historical  Society,  a  copy  of  a  publication  called  the  United  States  Maga- 
zine, bearing  the  date  of  1779,  for  which  the  subscription  rates  were  $3.00 
per  copy  or  $24.00  a  year!  It  is  possible  that  the  apparently  high  price 
charged  for. this  periodical  may  have  been  due,  in  some  degree,  to  its  wide- 
spread popularity,  and  to  the  extraordinary  demand  indicated  by  the  follow- 
ing lines,  taken  from  the  dedicatory  ode : — 

"Statesmen  of  assembly  great; 
Soldiers  that  on  danger  wait; 
Farmers  that  subdue  the  plain  ; 
Merchants  that  attempt  the  main  ; 
Tradesmen  who  their  labors  ply  ; 
These  shall  court  thy  company; 
These  shall  say,  with  placid  mien, 
Have  you  read  the  magazine?" 


Local  Self-Government  in  Pennsylvania.  33 

vision  is  made  for  any  such  democratic  institution  as  a  town- 
meeting,  where  the  people  may  come  together  to  vote  appro- 
priations, and  to  frame  by-laws  for  their  own  government. 
Neither  is  the  township  represented  by  a  supervisor  upon  the 
county  board,  us  in  New  York,  Michigan,  Illinois,  and  other 
of  the  Northern  and  North- Western  States.  The  county  is 
the  leading  local  unit,  and,  under  the  common-wealth,  may 
be  said  to  wield  the  largest  share  of  political  power.  It 
regulates  affairs  directly,  and  its  officers  are  responsible  to 
the  people  for  the  exercise  of  administrative  control.  The 
chief  authority  is  vested  in  three  commissioners,  who  are 
elected  for  a  term  of  three  years.  In  addition  to  duties 
which  will  be  subsequently  mentioned,  this  board  is  required 
to  transact  the  county  business,  to  keep  a  record  of  its  pro- 
ceedings, to  publish  annually  a  correct  account  of  all  receipts 
and  expenditures  of  the  previous  year,  to  make  an  annual 
statement  to  the  secretary  of  the  commonwealth  of  all  sums 
paid  for  the  support  and  maintenance  of  justice,  and  to 
have  charge  of  the  erection  and  control  of  the  county  public 
buildings.  Each  county  has  also  a  treasurer,  a  surveyor,  and. 
three  auditors.  It  is  not  necessary  to  define  the  duties  of  these 
functionaries.  "We  do  not  include  in  this  enumeration  those 
offices  which  pertain  to  the  administration  of  justice,  as  it  is 
our  intention  to  confine  this  discussion  to  purely  municipal 
matters. 

A  board  of  supervisors,  generally  two  or  three  in  number 
constitutes  the  highest  township  authority.  But  this  nume- 
rical limit  is  not  absolute,  since  the  law  provides  for  an  in- 
crease at  the  pleasure  of  the  electors.  The  term  of  office  of 
this  governing  board  extends  over  a  period  of  three  years. 
There  are  also  an  assessor,  two  assistant  assessors  (in  triennial 
years),  a  town-clerk,  a  treasurer,  three  auditors,  and  two  over- 
seers of  the  poor,  where  the  poor  are  a  township  charge. 
Under  a  constitutional  provision,  the  election  of  township 
officers  takes  place  annually  on  the  third  Tuesday  of  Feb- 
ruary. 

The  county  rates  and  levies  are  made  in  the  following 
manner.  Every  third  year  the  board  of  commissioners  issues 


34  Local  Self -Government  in  Pennsylvania. 

a  notice  to  the  assessors  of  the  different  townships,  requiring 
them  to  return,  within  a  certain  specified  time,  a  correct  list 
of  the  names  of  all  taxable  persons  residing  within  their  ter- 
ritorial jurisdiction.  The  assessors  and  their  assistants  im- 
mediately proceed  to  make  out  the  required  statement,  and 
to  furnish  also  an  accurate  valuation  of  such  real  and  personal 
property  as  the  law  directs.  Upon  this  basis,  the  commis- 
sioners levy  a  certain  rate  per  centum,  which  rate  is  uniform 
throughout  the  different  townships.  The  commissioners 
cause  transcripts  of  the  assessments  to  be  prepared  and  fur- 
nished to  each  assessor,  together  with  the  rate  per  centum  of 
the  amount  levied.  They  also  fix  a  day  on  which  appeals 
shall  be  heard.  The  assessor  is  then  required  to  give  notice, 
either  written  or  printed,  to  every  taxable  inhabitant  in 
the  township,  of  the  amount  for  which  he  stands  rated,  and 
to  inform  him  also  of  the  day  set  for  hearing  appeals.  All. 
objections  raised  to  the  assessment  are  decided  by  the  com- 
missioners ;  but  if  any  inhabitant  takes  exception  to  their 
ruling,  he  may  present  his  case  for  final  judgment  before  the 
court  of  common  pleas.  The  taxes  thus  levied  are  collected 
by  a  collector  for  each  township,  appointed  by  the  board  of 
commissioners.  The  selection  is  usually  made  in  accordance 
with  the  recommendation  of  the  various  assessors,  though  the 
range  of  choice  is  not  necessarily  limited  to  such  nominees. 

The  State  taxes  are  furnished  through  the  medium  of  the 
several  counties,  and  the  commissioners  perform  the  same 
duties  in  relation  to  their  levy  and  collection,  and  the  same 
proceedings  are  had  regarding  appeals,  as  in  the  case  of 
county  rates. 

The  township  has  the  power  to  lay  certain  rates  indepen- 
dently of  county  authority  or  jurisdiction.  For  instance, 
the  supervisors  are  authorized  to  assess  the  taxables  of  their 
township  for  a  sum  not  exceeding  one  cent  on  the  dollar  upon 
the  valuation  of  their  property,  to  keep  the  roads,  highways, 
and  bridges  in  good  order.  It  is  also  the  duty  of  the  over- 
seers of  the  poor,  where  the  poor  are  in  the  charge  of  the 
township,  to  make  a  similar  provision  for  the  support  of  the 
indigent  and  helpless,  having  first  obtained  the  consent  of 


Local  Self-Government  in  Pennsylvania.  So 

two  justices  of  the  peace.  These  rates  can  only  be  laid  in 
accordance  with  the  last  adjusted  county  valuation.  The 
township  assessor  aids  in  fixing  the  assessment,  and  collection 
is  made  hy  persons  designated  by  the  supervisors  and  over- 
seers, in  a  meeting  convened  for  the  purpose. 

Roads  and  highways  lying  within  the  boundaries  of  a 
township  are  under  its  management.  They  are  controlled 
by  the  supervisors,  and  the  expense  of  their  good  keeping  is 
borne  out  of  the  fund  raised  by  the  above-mentioned  assess- 
ment. It  is  allowable  for  any  person  to  work  out  his  road- 
tax  instead  of  paying  it  in  money.  This  is  usually  done. 
With  this  fact  in  view,  and  with  the  poor  more  generally 
in  the  care  of  the  county,  it  will  be  seen  that  the  tendency 
is  to  reduce  purely  township  rates  to  a  minimum.  The  super- 
visors are  also  responsible  for  the  repair  and  renewal  of  all 
causeways  and  small  bridges  situated  on  township  highways. 
If  a  road  forms  the  dividing  line  between  two  townships, 
the  expense  of  its  good  keeping  is  shared  equally  by  the  two 
districts.  When  a  number  of  inhabitants  think  it  is  advisa- 
ble that  a  new  highway  should  be  opened  up,  they  send  a 
petition  to  that  effect  to  the  court  of  quarter  sessions.  This 
judicial  body  at  once  appoints  viewers,  who  proceed  to  in- 
spect the  locality  through  which  it  is  proposed  the  road  shall 
run.  They  make  their  report  to  the  court,  and  if  a  favorable 
view  is  entertained,  the  road  is  confirmed  and  viewed  to 
be  opened.  Damages,  to  be  paid  by  the  county,  may  be 
awarded  for  any  injury  to  property,  even  though  the  owners 
were  petitioners  in  behalf  of  the  project.  Bridges  over 
large  rivers  or  streams,  which  would  entail  more  expense  in 
construction  than  it  is  reasonable  should  be  borne  by  one  or 
two  townships,  are  built  at  the  cost  of  the  county.  Pro- 
ceedings are  instituted  at  the  order  of  the  court  of  quarter 
sessions,  who  act  upon  the  representation  of  the  township 
supervisors,  or  a  petition  of  interested  inhabitants. 

The  poor  are  legally  a  township  charge;  though  their 
care  is  generally  placed  in  the  hands  of  the  county  commis- 
sioners. In  the  latter  event,  the  commissioners,  with  the 
approval  of  the  court  of  quarter  sessions,  select  suitable  real 
estate,  and  erect  thereon  a  building  called  a  "House  for  the 


36  Local  Self- Government  in  Pennsylvania. 

Destitute."  This  establishment  is  used  for  the  accommoda- 
tion of  all  poor  persons  who  have  gained  the  required  legal 
settlement.  Three  citizens,  one  of  whom  is  chosen  every 
year,  constitute  a  board  of  directors.  This  body  manages 
the  internal  economy  of  the  institution.  It  also  has  authority 
to  bind  out  children  as  apprentices  and  to  provide  empldy- 
ment  for  the  able-bodied  poor.  The  directors  furnish  a 
yearly  financial  estimate  to  the  commissioners,  so  that  due 
provision  may  be  made  for  a  poor-fund  in  levying  the 
county  rate.  The  board  is  further  empowered  to  make 
any  suggestions  which  they  may  deem  expedient,  for  im- 
provements or  alterations  in  the  institution.  It  may  grant 
relief,  to  a  limited  extent,  to  needy  persons  who  are  not  in- 
habitants of  the  almshouse.  The  judges  of  the  various  courts 
of  the  county,  and  ministers  of  the  gospel  of  all  denomina- 
tions are,  ex  officio,  visitors  of  the  institution.  In  this  capacity 
they  are  entitled  to  examine  into  its  general  condition,  and 
to  scrutinize  the  books  of  the  board  of  directors.  As  soon  as 
the  poor  become  the  charge  of  the  county,  the  office  of  over- 
seer in  the  different  townships  is  abolished. 

When  the  poor  are  under  the  control  of  the  township,  their 
care  is  entrusted  to  two  overseers,  and  their  maintenance 
provided  for  by  means  of  a  small  tax.  The  overseers  are 
obliged  to  furnish  relief  to  all  applicants  for  assistance,  who 
have  gained  a  legal  settlement  in  the  township.  Aid  must 
also  be  given  to  those  who  have  not  a  legal  settlement,  until 
they  can  be  removed  to  their  former  place  of  residence.  The 
duties  of  the  overseers  in  relation  to  binding  out  children  as 
apprentices,  and  finding  suitable  work  for  those  capable  of 
active  employment,  are  similar  to  those  devolving  upon  the 
county  directors.  ]STo  one  is  entitled  to  be  placed  upon  the 
poor-book  without  an  order  from  two  justices  of  the  peace. 
Every  house-keeper  receiving  a  transient  poor  person  is  re- 
quired to  give  notice  to  the  overseers  within  ten  days  after 
such  reception,  or,  in  case  of  default,  to  become  responsible 
for  all  further  maintenance. 

A  few  isolated  and  comparatively  unimportant  exceptions 
may  occur  to  the  method  of  local  administration  as  set  forth 
in  the  preceding  pages.  These  need  not  demand  our  present 


Local  Self -Government  in  Pennsylvania.  37 

consideration.  A  general  likeness  pervades  the  municipal 
organization  of  the  State,  and  the  foregoing  sketch  repre- 
sents, as  accurately  as  possible,  that  system  which  prevails 
throughout  the  commonwealth  of  Pennsylvania. 

Passing  in  rapid  review  the  facts  which  have  just  claimed 
our  attention,  we  cannot  help  noticing  the  liberal  methods 
which,  from  the  very  first,  existed  in  the  administration  of 
local  affairs.  The  control  over  matters  pertaining  to  self- 
government  was  not  given  to  individual  isolated  commu- 
nities, as  in  New  England;  nor  was  it  concentrated  in  the 
larger  unit,  the  county,  as  in  Virginia  and  Maryland.  And 
yet  the  system  of  Pennsylvania  was  quite  as  democratic  as 
the  one,  and  as  healthfully  centralized  as  the  other.  The 
power  to  make  by-laws  for  municipal  management,  as  well 
as  the  authority  to  legislate  for  the  entire  province,  was,  from 
the  beginning,  in  the  hands  of  the  people  or  their  delegates. 
All  public  officers  were  either  elected  directly,  or  chosen  by 
those  who  were.  Penn  himself  could  not  appoint  even  a 
justice  of  the  peace.  The  words  of  the  historian  Bancroft  are 
strictly  true:  "But  for  the  hereditary  office  of  Proprietary, 
Pennsylvania  had  been  a  representative  democracy." 

The  present  system  of  local  self-government  does  not  belong 
entirely,  nor  even  largely,  to  the  period  of  the  commonwealth. 
It  has,  of  course,  been  improved  and  modified  by  enactments 
since  1776,  but,  as  a  whole,  it  is  simply  the  continuation  of 
provincial  beginnings.  The  central  idea  upon  which  it  ia 
based  has  been  the  same  throughout.  That  idea  is  the  in- 
alienable right  of  the  people  to  a  control  over  their  own 
affairs,  and  may,  doubtless,  to  some  extent,  be  considered  as 
the  practical  realization  of  the  words  of  Penn:  "If  the  people 
want  anything  which  will  make  them  happy,  I  shall  readily 
grant  it."  The  great  principle  of  popular  sovereignty  was 
virtually  recognized  by  the  illustrious  founder  of  this  State 
in  every  department  of  its  provincial  administration;  and 
upon  this  foundation  principle  the  political  superstructure  of 
Pennsylvania  has  slowly  and  surely  risen,  until  now  it  may 
well  be  called  the  keystone  of  the  arch  of  American  Liberty. 

JOHNS  HOPKINS  UNIVERSITY, 

May,  1882.  C 


1 


Norman  Constables  in  America.  Kead  before  the  New  England  His- 
toric, Genealogical  Society,  February  1,  »882,  By  H.  B.  ADAMS. 

Village  Communities  in  America  —  Cape  Anne  and  Salem  Planta- 
tions. Kead  in  part  at  a  Field  Meeting  «3f  the  Essex  Institute,  August 
31,  1881.  By  fl.  B.  ADAMS. 

Origin  and  Development  of  the  Municipal  Government  of  New  York 
City.  I.  The  Dutch  Period.  II.  ThfJ  English  Period.  Published 
in  the  Magazine  of  American  History,  May  and  September,  1882. 
By  J.  F.  JAMESON,  Ph.  D.  Johns  Hopk'ins  University,  1882 ;  Assistant 
in  History,  Johns  Hopkins  University. 

Administration  of  Berlin  compared  wit?n  that  of  New  York.  Two 
articles  in  The  Nation,  March  23,  3C>,  1882.  To  be  revised  and  en- 
larged for  this  series.  By  K.  T.  ELY,  ^h.  D.  Heidelberg,  1879  ;  Asso- 
ciate Professor  of  Political  Economy,  Johns  Hopkins  University. 

Local  Government  of  Michigan,  and  the'  North-west.  Kead  before  the 
Social  Science  Association,  at  Saratoga,  September  7,  1882.  By  E.  W. 
BEMIS,  A.  B.  Amherst  College,  1880. 

French  and  English  Institutions  in  Wis-onsin.  By  W.  F.  ALLEN,  A.  M. 
Harvard,  1866;  Professor  of  Histor/  and  Latin,  University  of  Wis- 
consin. 

Civil  Government  in  Iowa.  By  JESS#  MACY,  A.  B.  Iowa  College,  1869; 
Professor  of  Historical  and  Political  Science,  Iowa  College. 

Indian,  French,  and  English  Towns  i-n  Ohio.  By  JOHN  T.  SHORT,  Ph.D. 
Leipzig,  1880 ;  Professor  of  HistoiTi  Onio  State  University. 

The  Parish  Institutions  of  Maryland.  With  Illustrations  from  Parish 
Kecords.  Abstract  in  Johns  Hopkins  University  Circular,  August;  1882. 
By  EDWARD  INGLE,  A.  B.  Johns  Hopkii?s  University,  1882. 

Old  and  New  Towns  of  Maryland.  Read  befdre  *hs-2fsryiaiKt  Historical 
Society,  December  11,  1882.  By  LEWIS  W.  WILHELM,  A.  B.  Johns 
Hopkins  University,  1880 ;  Graduate  Scholar  in  History. 

Old  Maryland  Manors.  Note  in  Johns  Hopkins  University  Circular,  May, 
1882.  By  JOHN  JOHNSON,  A.  B.  Johns  Hopkins  University,  1881. 

History  of  Free  Schools  in  Maryland.  By  BASIL  SOLLERS,  City  College, 
1871,  and  L.  W.  WILHELM,  A.  B.  Johns  Hopkins  University,  1880. 

The  Institutions  of  North  Carolina.  Read  before  the  Hist,  and  Polit. 
Science  Association.  Abstract  in  Johns  Hopkins  University  Circu- 
lar, May,  1882.  By  HENRY  E.  SHEPHERD,  University  of  Virginia,  late 
Superintendent  of  Public  Instruction,  Baltimore,  now  President  of  the 
College  of  Charleston,  S.  C. 

Local  Self  Government  in  South  Carolina, — the  Parish,  the  District, 
and  the  County.  With  other  papers  on  Free  Schools,  Markets,  Fairs, 
Militia,  &c.  Abstracts  in  Johns  Hopkins  University  Circulars,  Feb- 
ruary, May,  1882.  By  B.  J.  RAMAGE,  A.  B.,  Newberry  College,  1880. 
Graduate  Scholar  in  History,  J.  H.  U.  Read  before  the  South  Carolina 
Historical  Society,  December  16,  1882. 

Montauk,  and  the  Common  Lands  of  Easthampton,  Long  Island. 
Abstract  in  Johns  Hopkins  University  Circular,  May,  1882.  By  J.  F. 
JAMESON. 


